Numerical aperture integration for optical critical dimension (OCD) metrology

ABSTRACT

Provided are techniques for numerically integrating an intensity distribution function over a numerical aperture in a manner dependent on a determination of whether the numerical aperture spans a Rayleigh singularity. Where a singularity exists, Gaussian quadrature (cubature) is performed using a set of weights and points (nodes) that account for the effect of the Wood anomaly present within the aperture space. The numerical aperture may be divided into subregions separated by curves where the Wood anomaly condition is satisfied. Each subregion is then numerically integrated and a weighted sum of the subregion contributions is the estimate of the integral. Alternatively, generalized Gaussian quadrature (cubature) is performed where an analytical polynomial function which accounts for the effect of the Wood anomaly present within the aperture space is integrated. Points and nodes generated from a fit of the analytical polynomial function are then used for integration of the intensity distribution function.

CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS

This is a continuing application of application Ser. No. 13/371,317filed Feb. 10, 2012, the disclosure of which is incorporated herein byreference in its entirety for all purposes.

TECHNICAL FIELD

Embodiments of the present invention are in the field of opticalmetrology, and, more particularly, relate to methods of integratingnumerical aperture (NA) in optical critical dimension (OCD) metrology.

BACKGROUND

OCD metrology, also known as scatterometry, is a rapidly evolvingtechnique for non-destructive dimension metrology utilized for in-linedimensional characterization of fabricated device structures. In thesemiconductor industry for example, test grating structures may befabricated along with the semiconductor device structures and these testgrating structures may be optically characterized as a means ofmonitoring the fabrication processing.

Generally, OCD metrology entails simulating electromagnetic spectralinformation and comparing the simulated spectral information withmeasured spectral information collected from a sample gratingilluminated on a workpiece (e.g., semiconductor wafer). As shown in FIG.1, for an OCD metrology tool 100, the measured spectral informationderived from the detector 110 is a result of the numerical aperture (NA)of the lens(es) 115 in the optical path which define a range of polarand azimuthal angles of incidence (θ, φ) over which the optical system116 operates. As shown in FIG. 1, the angular spectrum may be decomposedinto rays about a chief ray (defined at θ=θ₀ and φ=0) which are theneach modeled as a plane wave to produce a scattering function S(θ,φ)through rigorous computation of a diffraction scattering matrix by atechnique such as rigorous coupled wave analysis (RCWA).

Because RCWA calculations are computationally intensive, it isadvantageous to average the optical signature over sampled incidentdirections. Generally, averaging of the optical signature entailsintegrating over an aperture (circular, rectangular, or otherwise). Suchintegration can be estimated by numerical quadrature using a techniquesuch as Gaussian quadrature (1D) or cubature (2D) in which a weightedsum of a function is evaluated at n selected points (nodes) x_(i) withinthe aperture space Σ_(i=1) ^(n) w_(i)f (x_(i)) as an approximation of∫_(a) ^(b)f(x)dx, where each computation of f(x_(i)) entails theintensive RCWA calculation.

For computing the nodes x_(i) and weights w_(i) of Gaussian quadrature(cubature) rules, the integrand function is preferably smooth. However,as a function of the illumination wavelength, numerical aperture, anddimensions of the grating, one or more Rayleigh singularities may occurwithin the numerical aperture space. Such a condition is also known as aWood anomaly. Where Wood anomalies are not considered during numericalintegration, convergence behavior for the numerical aperture average maybe above measurement precision and/or be disadvantageously slow.

With smaller spot sizes often desirable for reducing the area of theworkpiece 120 occupied by a target grating 125, a larger numericalaperture is desirable and Wood anomalies become more frequent.Techniques specially designed to integrate a numerical aperture spanninga Wood anomaly can therefore advantageously improve the simulatedspectral information used in OCD measurement.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

Embodiments of the present invention are illustrated by way of example,and not limitation, in the figures of the accompanying drawings inwhich:

FIG. 1 illustrates a system for optical critical dimension (OCD)measurement, in accordance with an embodiment of the present invention;

FIG. 2 is a flow diagram illustrating a method for integrating over anumerical aperture space based on a determination of the presence of aWood anomaly, in accordance with an embodiment;

FIG. 3A is a flow diagram illustrating a first method for integratingover a numerical aperture space in which a Wood anomaly is found, inaccordance with an embodiment;

FIG. 3B is a flow diagram illustrating a second method for integratingover a numerical aperture space in which a Wood anomaly is found, inaccordance with an embodiment;

FIG. 4A is a plan view schematic of a 1D periodic structure for whichelectromagnetic spectral information is determined for an optical systemhaving a numerical aperture integrated using the methods in FIG. 3A orFIG. 3B, in accordance with embodiments of the present invention;

FIG. 4B is a plan view schematic of a 2D periodic structure for whichelectromagnetic spectral information is determined for an optical systemhaving a numerical aperture integrated using the methods in FIG. 3A orFIG. 3B, in accordance with embodiments of the present invention;

FIG. 5 illustrates a mapping of subregions of a numerical aperture spaceinto unit squares for integration, in accordance with an embodiment ofthe present invention;

FIG. 6 illustrates computed spectral information determined for anembodiment of the method illustrated in FIG. 3A compared to spectralinformation determined with conventional integration techniques;

FIG. 7 is a block diagram of a system to implement the methodsillustrated in FIGS. 3A and 3B for determining and utilizing profileparameters for automated process and equipment control, in accordancewith an embodiment;

FIG. 8 is a process flow diagram illustrating input and output datastreams of data processing modules employed in the system illustrated inFIG. 7;

FIG. 9 is a block diagram of a processing system to perform one or moreof the functional blocks illustrated in FIGS. 7 and 8, in accordancewith an embodiment;

FIG. 10A is a schematic illustrating the utilization of OCD metrology todetermine parameters of structures on a semiconductor wafer, inaccordance with embodiments of the present invention; and

FIG. 10B is a schematic diagram illustrating the utilization ofbeam-profile reflectometry and/or beam-profile ellipsometry to determineparameters of structures on a semiconductor wafer, in accordance withembodiments of the present invention.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

In the following description, numerous details are set forth. It will beapparent, however, to one skilled in the art, that the present inventionmay be practiced without these specific details. For example, while thepresent methods are described in the context of scatterometry fordiffraction grating parameter measurements, it should be appreciatedthat the methods may be readily adaptable to other contexts andapplications by one of ordinary skill in the art.

In some instances, well-known methods and devices are shown in blockdiagram form, rather than in detail, to avoid obscuring the presentinvention. Reference throughout this specification to “an embodiment”means that a particular feature, structure, function, or characteristicdescribed in connection with the embodiment is included in at least oneembodiment of the invention. Thus, the appearances of the phrase “in anembodiment” in various places throughout this specification are notnecessarily referring to the same embodiment of the invention.Furthermore, the particular features, structures, functions, orcharacteristics may be combined in any suitable manner in one or moreembodiments. For example, a first embodiment may be combined with asecond embodiment anywhere the two embodiments are not mutuallyexclusive.

Some portions of the detailed descriptions provide herein are presentedin terms of algorithms and symbolic representations of operations ondata bits within a computer memory. Unless specifically statedotherwise, as apparent from the following discussion, it is appreciatedthat throughout the description, discussions utilizing terms such as“calculating,” “determining,” “estimating,” “storing,” “collecting,”“displaying,” “receiving,” “consolidating,” “generating,” “updating,” orthe like, refer to the action and processes of a computer system, orsimilar electronic computing device, that manipulates and transformsdata represented as physical (electronic) quantities within the computersystem's registers and memories into other data similarly represented asphysical quantities within the computer system memories or registers orother such information storage, transmission or display devices.

Embodiments described herein include automated techniques fornumerically estimating numerical aperture integrals. Generally, thetechniques may be conceptualized as being dependent on a determinationof whether the numerical aperture spans a Rayleigh singularity, asillustrated in the flow diagram for method 200 in FIG. 2. Parametersdefining the incident light wavelength (λ), numerical aperture spacesize (value), and shape (e.g., circular, rectangular) are received atoperation 205, as are polar and azimuth angles of incidence (θ), (φ).Such parameters are generally known for a given optical metrology systemand may be entered by an operator of the system as a configurationparameter, etc. For example, incident angle θ is typically either normalor will be 60°-70° and numerical aperture values may range from low(e.g, <0.1) to high (e.g., between 0.9 and 0.95).

Similarly, characteristics of the target diffracting structure are alsoreceived at operation 205. For example, diffracting structure patternparameters are entered establishing whether the test structure is a 1Dline-space grating, 2D orthogonal array, or 2D crossed structure array.FIG. 4A is a plan view schematic of a 1D periodic structure 405 forwhich electromagnetic spectral information may be determined for anoptical system having a numerical aperture integrated using the methodsdescribed herein. For the 1D structure 405, a number of periods and/orpitch P may be predetermined as a configuration parameter for themethods described herein. FIG. 4B is a plan view schematic of a 2Dperiodic structure 410 for which electromagnetic spectral informationmay be determined for an optical system having a numerical apertureintegrated using the methods described herein. For the 2D structure 410,a and b are grating periods in orthogonal directions (e.g., x and y).Although the illustrated 2D structure 410 is orthogonal, a crossed 2Dstructure where a and b are not equal, may also be utilized.

At operation 210, FIG. 2, a determination is made whether a Wood anomalyfor a particular order m is located inside the numerical aperture spaceof the incident light. Generally, operation 210 entails computing curvesthat define the Wood anomaly based on the illumination and diffractingstructure parameters received at operation 205. Such curves are portionsof a Rayleigh circle that pass through the numerical aperture. FIG. 5illustrates a Wood anomaly curve 510 passing through a rectangularnumerical aperture 505. Positive and negative diffractive orders may betested using the parameters received in operation 205.

In response to no Rayleigh singularity being determined to fall withinthe numerical aperture space, the method 200 proceeds to operation 215where a first set of weights and nodes is generated to numericallyintegrate an intensity distribution function over the entire aperturespace. For example, a standard Gaussian quadrature (cubature) routine isperformed. If instead, a Wood anomaly is determined to lie within thenumerical aperture space, the method 200 proceeds to operation 220 wherea second set of weights and nodes are generated to account for theeffect the anomaly has on diffraction efficiency.

At operation 299, simulated spectral information (e.g., spectralresponse of the target diffracting structure at a fixed angle ofincidence) is then rigorously computed (e.g., by RCWA) at either thefirst or second set of points (nodes) and the respective weights appliedto the evaluations.

FIG. 3A is a flow diagram illustrating in more detail a method 301 forintegrating over a numerical aperture space in which a Wood anomaly isfound, in accordance with an embodiment of method 200. Method 302 maytherefore be performed as part of operation 220 in method 200. Althoughthe description of the method 302 is succinct to avoid obscuring theembodiments of present invention, the interested reader will findrelevant information in the publication, “Effective Schema for theRigorous Modeling of Grating Diffraction with Focused Beams,” Bischoffet al., Applied Optics, Vol. 50, No. 16, June 2011, the entirety ofwhich is hereby incorporated by reference for all purposes.

Referring to FIG. 3A, an analytic expression for a curve defining a Woodanomaly with the numerical aperture space is determined at operation305. The Wood anomaly condition is where the component of the wavevector in a normal direction is zero. The normal component of the wavevector may be derived for a given diffracting structure from a generaldispersion equation. For a 1D grating, such as in FIG. 4A, the curve forthe Wood anomaly reduces to

$\begin{matrix}{{1 - \left( {{\sin\;\theta\;\cos\;\phi} + {n\frac{\lambda}{p}}} \right)^{2} - {\sin^{2}{\theta sin}^{2}\phi}} = 0} & \left( {{Eq}.\mspace{14mu} 1} \right)\end{matrix}$Where n is the diffraction order. Similarly, for a 2D grating, such asin FIG. 4B, the curve for the Wood anomaly reduces to:{right arrow over (k)} ₀=sin θ cos φ{circumflex over (x)}+sin θ sinφŷ  (Eq. 2)Where {circumflex over (x)} and ŷ are the unit vectors in the x andy-directions and {right arrow over (k)}₀ is the incident light which maybe provided for diffraction order pairs (m, n), as:{right arrow over (k)} _(m,n) ={right arrow over (k)} ₀ +n{right arrowover (k)}λ+m{right arrow over (Q)}λ  (Eq. 3)where {right arrow over (K)} and {right arrow over (Q)} are reciprocallattice vectors denoted as {right arrow over (a)} and {right arrow over(b)}, describing the repeating cell of the 2D grating. The Wood anomalycondition is then:1−|{right arrow over (K _(n,m))}∥²=0  (Eq. 4)The Wood anomaly curve(s) (e.g., Eq. 1 and 4) define a set of Rayleighlocations over a predetermined range of wavelength, azimuth angle φ, andincident angle θ for a parameter of the target diffracting structure(e.g., pitch p for a one dimensional grating or set of predeterminedreciprocal lattice vectors {right arrow over (K)} and {right arrow over(Q)} for a two dimensional grating).

At operation 310, the numerical aperture space is divided into aplurality of subregions separated by the curve(s) computed at operation310 and an outer boundary of the numerical aperture as defined by theaperture shape parameter. As such, intersections of the numericalaperture space and the Wood anomaly curve(s) are determined based on theshape of the numerical aperture. For a circularly shaped aperture(NA²=x²+y²), the Rayleigh circles for the positive and negative ordersoccur pair-wise in the numerical aperture space with wavelength λdetermining the locations of a Wood anomaly curve within the numericalaperture space. For the rectangular shaped aperture space 505illustrated in FIG. 5, the Wood anomaly curve 510 corresponds to a minussecond-order (m=−2).

Next, each of the subregions generated at operation 310 is then to benumerically integrated. In one embodiment, the subregions are firstmapped to a unit square. FIG. 5 illustrates a mapping of subregions 515and 520 of the numerical aperture space 505, as separated by the Woodanomaly curve 510, into the unit squares 530 and 540. Subregion 515 isbounded by the aperture rim on the left and Wood anomaly curve 510 onthe right. Subregion 520 is bounded by the aperture rim on the right andWood anomaly curve 510 on the left. Areas of the subregions sum to2NA_(y)(NA_(max)−NA_(min)), where NA_(y) is the y-dimension apertureboundary for the chief ray (θ_(i)=0) andNA_(min,max)=sin(θ₀±−sin⁻¹(NA_(x))). The mapping operation generallyentails converting the Wood anomaly curves (e.g., Eq. 1 and Eq. 4) intoCartesian coordinates (e.g., where x=sin θ cos φ and y=sin θ sin φ) andusing new coordinates (s,t) to arrive at a the mapping:y(s,t)=y ₁+(y ₂ −y ₁)t=NA_(y)(2t−1)  (Eq. 5)andx(s,t)=x ₀ +s(x ₁(y)−x ₀)  (Eq. 6)for the subregions 520 and 515, respectively. The mapped or transformedintegral I may then be expressed asI=∫ ₀ ¹∫₀ ¹ g(s,t)|J(s,t)|dsdt  (Eq. 7)where |J(s,t)| is the determinant of the Jacobi matrix. Partialderivatives of each subregion (e.g., 515 and 520) may then bedetermined.

Because Gaussian quadrature is based on optimum polynomialinterpolation, if the function (Eq. 7) is not of polynomial type such assquare root of x, Gaussian quadrature can be very poorly suited for thistype of integration. Therefore, in the exemplary embodiment, singularbehavior of the Wood anomaly, (which is a square root singularity) issuppressed at operation 315 by applying a nonlinear transformation tothe mapped integral (Eq. 7). For example a function with square rootsingularity at the origin can be eliminated by a transformation, such asx=t², so that:

$\begin{matrix}{{\int_{0}^{1}{{f\left( x^{1/2} \right)}\ {\mathbb{d}x}}} = {2{\int_{0}^{1}{{f(t)}t\ {{\mathbb{d}t}.}}}}} & \left( {{Eq}.\mspace{14mu} 8} \right)\end{matrix}$With the transformation, the new integrand 2f(t)t is well behaved. Amore general transformation can be written as:

$\begin{matrix}{{{x^{\prime}(t)} = {\frac{\left( {n + m + 1} \right)!}{{n!}{m!}}{\tau^{n}\left( {1 - \tau} \right)}^{m}}},{{x(t)} = {\frac{\left( {n + m + 1} \right)!}{{n!}{m!}}{\int_{0}^{t}{{\tau^{n}\left( {1 - \tau} \right)}^{m}\ {{\mathbb{d}\tau}.}}}}}} & \left( {{Eq}.\mspace{14mu} 9} \right)\end{matrix}$Typically, one may choose n, m=0,1. With such a transformation, a onedimensional integral can be transformed in the following manner:

$\begin{matrix}\begin{matrix}{{\int_{0}^{1}{{f(x)}\ {\mathbb{d}x}}} = {\int_{0}^{1}{{f\left( {x(t)} \right)}{x^{\prime}(t)}\ {\mathbb{d}t}}}} \\{= {\frac{\left( {n + m + 1} \right)!}{{n!}{m!}}{\int_{0}^{1}{{f\left( {x(t)} \right)}{t^{n}\left( {1 - t} \right)}^{m}{\mathbb{d}t}}}}} \\{\approx {\frac{\left( {n + m + 1} \right)!}{{n!}{m!}}{\sum\limits_{i}{{f\left( {x\left( t_{i} \right)} \right)}{t_{i}^{n}\left( {1 - t_{i}} \right)}^{m}w_{i}}}}}\end{matrix} & \left( {{Eq}.\mspace{14mu} 10} \right)\end{matrix}$When f(x) is singular at either 0 or 1, or both, n,m is chosen so thatx′(t)=0 for t at 0, or 1, or both. It has been determined throughpractice that this type of nonlinear transformation is highlyadvantageous as ensuring a faster speed of convergence. Thetransformation can be helpful even when Wood anomalies are outside butclose to the apertures. In further embodiments where the diffractingstructure has a higher dimension, a tensor product nonlineartransformation is employed (e.g. applied for 2D squares).

At operation 320, a numeric quadrature formula is then applied tointegrate over the unit squares (e.g., 530, 540). For example, for a 1Ddiffracting structure, Gaussian quadrature may be performed for eachsubregion and for a 2D diffracting structure, Gaussian cubature may beperformed for each subregion. The coordinate values of the quadrature(cubature) formula are inserted for all points (s,t). X, Y coordinatesof these points are determined by inserting these values into Eqs. 5 and6. The incidence angles θ and φ are calculated from the Cartesiancoordinates x, y (e.g., x=sin θ cos φ and y=sin θ sin φ). The rigorousdiffraction computation is run for these angles using standardtechniques (e.g., RCWA) and the resulting spectral signal values aremultiplied by the prefactor of the integral and the associated weight ofthe cubature formula and summed up to yield an approximate evaluation ofthe integral for each subregion (e.g., 515 and 520). As such, where aWood anomaly is within the numerical aperture spacer, operation 299(FIG. 2) entails performing operation 320 for each subregion and thenperforming operation 330, where the subregion integral evaluations, asweighted on basis of relative area

$\left( {{e.g.},{{{weight}\mspace{14mu}{of}\mspace{14mu}{subregion}} = \frac{{area}\mspace{14mu}{of}\mspace{14mu}{subregion}}{{total}\mspace{14mu}{area}\mspace{14mu}{of}\mspace{14mu}{aperture}}}} \right),$are summed.

FIG. 6 illustrates simulated spectral information for an embodiment ofthe method 301 (FIG. 3A) compared to spectral information determinedwith a conventional integration technique which does not divide thenumerical aperture based on Wood anomaly curves but rather treats theentire numerical aperture as a single domain. As shown, where fewerpoints (e.g., 3 points) are utilized, the simulated spectral informationincludes discontinuity peaks 610A which correspond to Rayleighsingularities. Such peaks do not exist in a measured spectrum (e.g.,generated by detector 110 of FIG. 1). These discontinuity peaks remaineven when many more points (nodes) are utilized in conventionaltechniques (e.g., peaks 610B for the simulated signal for a 20 pointquadrature). Note however the greater smoothness of the curve labeled“divided,” where the simulated spectral information is generatedcorresponding to the method 301 with numerical aperture division intosubregions based on Wood anomaly curves and a subsequent nonlineartransformation. Even though only 12 quadrature points are utilized, thesmoother curve is much better matched to experimentally measuredintensity distributions.

FIG. 3B is a flow diagram illustrating a method 302 for integrating overa numerical aperture space in which a Wood anomaly is found, inaccordance with another embodiment of the method 200. For example,method 302 may be performed as part of operation 220 in method 200. Inmethod 302, generalized Gaussian quadrature is utilized and theinterested reader is referred to the publication, “A NonlinearOptimization Procedure for Generalized Gaussian Quadratures”, Bremer etal., SIAM J. Sci. Comput., 32, pp. 1761-1788 (2010) for a detaileddescription of known techniques for determining points and weights forapproximation of an integral for one dimensional integrals. Forembodiments of the present invention, the function to be integrated isassumed to have the form:

$\begin{matrix}{{f\left( \overset{\rightarrow}{k} \right)} = {{g_{0}\left( \overset{\rightarrow}{k} \right)} + {\sum\limits_{n,m}{{g_{n,m}\left( \overset{\rightarrow}{k} \right)}\sqrt{{{1 -}}{\overset{\rightarrow}{k}}_{n,m}{^{2}}}}}}} & \left( {{Eq}.\mspace{14mu} 11} \right)\end{matrix}$This generalized function includes the square root-type Wood anomalycondition, for example as arrived at for the Eq. 4, and is therefore ageneralized function that accounts for the effect of the Wood anomaly ondiffraction efficiency. At operation 380, a plurality of suchgeneralized functions are constructed where the indices n, m are chosenso that {right arrow over (k)}_(n,m) is within the integration zone(i.e., numerical aperture space) and the functions g ({right arrow over(k)}) are analytic polynomials of the variable k. The g functions arewell behaved functions free of singularities. The summation is over mand n so that the Wood anomaly curves are within the integration regionor fairly close to the region. For a rectangular type of aperture, atensor-product of Legendre polynomials may be used for 2D NAintegrations, namely for each function g_(n,m)({right arrow over (k)}),scale the variables k_(x) and k_(y) so that in each subregion they canbe expressed in terms of the following basis functions:g ^((i,j))({right arrow over (k)})=L _(i)(q _(x))L _(j)(q _(y))  (Eq.12)where q_(x) and q_(y) are scaled so that they are both in [−1,1]. Forembodiments with non-rectangular regions, a transformation into squaresis performed.

At operation 383, the plurality of generalized functions is interpolatedto fit the intensity distribution function described above in Eqs. 11and 12 (e.g., received at operation 205 in FIG. 2). At operation 385,Gaussian quadrature (cubature) points (nodes) and weights are generatedbased on the known behavior of the generalized functions as theintegrand. In the exemplary embodiment, the numerical aperture isadaptively divided into smaller subregions at operation 387 until thepolynomial interpolation at Gaussian quadrature (cubature) points ineach subregion achieves a threshold level of accuracy. For example,assume a given rectangle region and a set of functions φ_(m)(x, y), m=1,2, . . . , M, are to be interpolated over the region with preset points.First we set the number of points in the given region to be 2K×2K, 2K ineach direction. These points are determined from the Gaussian quadratureand are denoted as x_(i), y_(j), j=1, 2, . . . , 2K. For each functionφ_(m)(x, y), m=1, 2, . . . , M, we construct its tensor-productpolynomial approximation as:φ_(m)(x,y)≈Σ_(i,j=0) ^(2K-1)α_(m) ^((i,j)) L _(i)(x)L _(j)(y)  (Eq. 13)Error is then computed as

$ɛ^{2} = {\sum\limits_{{i + j} = K}^{{2K} - 1}{{\alpha_{m}^{({i,j})}}^{2}.}}$If ε is larger than the prescribed accuracy (e.g., 10⁻⁴) for any mvalue, the region is divided into 4 rectangles and operation 387repeated. In other embodiments, a region is divided into 2 rectangles,the direction of which can be determined by comparing the values of

$ɛ_{x}^{2} = {{\sum\limits_{{i = K},{j = 0}}^{{2K} - 1}{{\alpha_{m}^{({i,j})}}^{2}\mspace{14mu}{and}\mspace{14mu} ɛ_{y}^{2}}} = {\sum\limits_{{i = 0},{j = K}}^{{2K} - 1}{{\alpha_{m}^{({i,j})}}^{2}.}}}$If the former is greater than the latter, the region is divided in thex-direction, otherwise it is divided in the y-direction. Where thedesired accuracy is achieved, K×K points composed of tensor-product Kpoint Gaussian quadrature points are used. All the tensor-productGaussian quadrature points at the lowest level are collected and thepoints at their parent levels are discarded.For the sake of simplicity, the tensor-product quadrature points may becondensed in to one single notation:{right arrow over (r)} _(i)=(x _(i) ,y _(j)),W _(i) =w _(i) w _(j)A  (Eq. 14)where A is the area of the subregion and w's are the 1D Gaussianquadrature weights. The orthogonal functions u_(m)({right arrow over(r)}_(i))=u_(im)/√{square root over (W_(i))} are then obtained byperforming a singular value decomposition (SVD) on matrix A, whereA_(im)=φ_(m)({right arrow over (r)}_(i)) as A=UΣV*. In such adecomposition, assuming that A is an N×M matrix, and N>M, thenU^(T)U=VV^(T)=I, where I is an M×M identity matrix, and Σ is a diagonalmatrix whose elements are greater or equal to zero and ordered in such away that the first element is the largest. Truncating the elements thatare small to zero entails a good approximation of the original matrix.

At operation 390, the Gaussian quadrature (cubature) determined for thesub regions as an accurate integration scheme. QR decomposition isemployed with column pivoting to reduce the number of integration pointsobtained from operation 385 based on prescribed integration accuracy.First we construct a matrix B through

$\begin{matrix}{\begin{matrix}{{\sum\limits_{i}{{\phi_{m}\left( {\overset{\rightarrow}{r}}_{i} \right)}W_{i}}} = {\sum\limits_{i}{{\phi_{m}\left( {\overset{\rightarrow}{r}}_{i} \right)}W_{i}^{1/2}W_{i}^{1/2}}}} \\{\equiv {\sum\limits_{i}{B_{m,i}W_{i}^{1/2}}}} \\{{= I_{m}},}\end{matrix}{B_{m,i} \equiv {{\phi_{m}\left( {\overset{\rightarrow}{r}}_{i} \right)}W_{i}^{1/2}}}} & \left( {{Eq}.\mspace{14mu} 15} \right)\end{matrix}$Next, a pivoted QR factorization of matrix B is performed so that

$\begin{matrix}\begin{matrix}{B = \left. {{Q\begin{pmatrix}R_{1,1} & R_{1,2} \\0 & R_{2,2}\end{pmatrix}}P}\rightarrow{{Q\begin{pmatrix}R_{1,1} & R_{1,2} \\0 & R_{2,2}\end{pmatrix}}P\; W^{1/2}} \right.} \\{= \left. I\rightarrow{\begin{pmatrix}R_{1,1} & R_{1,2} \\0 & R_{2,2}\end{pmatrix}P\; W^{1/2}} \right.} \\{= {Q^{T}I}}\end{matrix} & \left( {{Eq}.\mspace{14mu} 16} \right)\end{matrix}$where Q is an orthogonal matrix and P is a pivoting matrix which simplyexchanges the indices of {right arrow over (r)}_(i)'s. The factorizationprocess is stopped when |R_(2,2)| is small. The points associated withmatrix R_(2,2) are dropped and only those associated with matrix R_(1,1)are retained. A new set of weights whose components are {tilde over(W)}_(i)=z_(i)W_(i) ^(1/2) are determined after finding the associatedsolutions to R_(1,1)z=Q^(T)I.

At operation 392, integration points N may then be reduced incrementallyusing, for example, damped Newton method to solve the followingnonlinear optimization problem:

$\begin{matrix}{{\min\;{\sum\limits_{i = 1}^{N - 1}{{{\sum\limits_{j = 1}^{N - 1}{{\overset{\sim}{W}}_{j}{u_{i}\left( {\overset{\sim}{\overset{\_}{r}}}_{j} \right)}}} - {\int{{u_{i}\left( \overset{\rightarrow}{r} \right)}{\mathbb{d}\overset{\rightarrow}{r}}}}}}^{2}}},} & \left( {{Eq}.\mspace{14mu} 17} \right)\end{matrix}$from N points to N−1 points where u_(i) is the tensor-product ofLagrange polynomials. Note that with each increment, the point with theleast contribution to the integral is removed. This process repeatsuntil further reduction leads to an error larger than the prescribedaccuracy. The integration points and weights, as generated at operation385, or as reduced at operations 390, 392, accounting for the effect ofthe Wood anomaly and are then employed in operation 299, to rigorouslycompute the simulated spectral information.

FIG. 7 is a block diagram of a system 700 to implement one or more ofthe methods illustrated in FIGS. 2, 3A and 3B for determining andutilizing profile parameters for automated process and equipmentcontrol, in accordance with an embodiment. System 700 includes a firstfabrication cluster 702 and optical metrology system 704. System 700also includes a second fabrication cluster 706. Although the secondfabrication cluster 706 is depicted in FIG. 7 as being subsequent tofirst fabrication cluster 702, it should be recognized that secondfabrication cluster 706 can be located prior to first fabricationcluster 702 in system 700 (e.g. and in the manufacturing process flow).A photolithographic process, such as exposing and/or developing aphotoresist layer applied to a wafer, can be performed using firstfabrication cluster 702. In one exemplary embodiment, optical metrologysystem 704 includes an optical metrology tool 708 and processing unit710. Optical metrology tool 708 is configured to measure a diffractionsignal off of a target diffracting structure. If the measureddiffraction signal and the simulated diffraction signal match, one ormore values of the profile parameters are presumed equal the one or morevalues of the profile parameters associated with the simulateddiffraction signal.

In one exemplary embodiment, optical metrology system 704 also includesa library 712 with a plurality of simulated (i.e. calculated)diffraction signals and a plurality of values of one or more profileparameters associated with the plurality of simulated diffractionsignals. Each of the plurality of simulated diffraction signals may begenerated by the methods described herein to account for an effect ofWood anomaly on a diffraction efficiency following one or more of themethods illustrated herein (e.g., FIGS. 2, 3A and 3B).

Metrology processing unit 710 can compare a measured diffraction signalgenerated for a target diffracting structure by the optical metrologytool 708 to the plurality of simulated diffraction signals in thelibrary. When a matching simulated diffraction signal is found, the oneor more values of the profile parameters associated with the matchingsimulated diffraction signal in the library is assumed to be the one ormore values of the profile parameters characterizing the measuredstructure.

System 700 also includes a metrology processor 716. In one exemplaryembodiment, processing unit 710 can transmit the one or more values ofthe one or more profile parameters to metrology processor 716. Metrologyprocessor 716 can then adjust one or more process parameters orequipment settings of first fabrication cluster 702 based on the one ormore values of the one or more profile parameters determined usingoptical metrology system 704. Metrology processor 716 can also adjustone or more process parameters or equipment settings of the secondfabrication cluster 706 based on the one or more values of the one ormore profile parameters determined using optical metrology system 704.As noted above, fabrication cluster 706 can process the wafer before orafter fabrication cluster 702.

System 700 includes a simulated spectral information module 750 thatincludes in FIG. 8 an NA module 860 and a simulation engine andaveraging module 870. The simulated spectral information module 750 maybe implemented in either hardware (e.g., ASIC, FPGA, etc.) or software(e.g., as an instance executed by the processing unit 710). Thesimulated spectral information module 750 is to generate the spectralinformation for the simulated diffraction signals stored in the library712.

FIG. 8 is a schematic diagram illustrating input and output data streamsand data processing modules employed in the simulated spectralinformation module 750 illustrated in FIG. 7. Depending onimplementation, the data processing module may be implemented inhardware (e.g., ASIC or FPGA) or software (e.g., instantiated by theprocessing unit 710). In particular embodiment, the NA module 860 is toperform determinations of whether a particular set of parametersspecifying a numerical aperture for the optical metrology tool 708(e.g., NA shape, NA size), and/or specifying an illumination wavelength,and/or specifying a target diffracting structure to be illuminated bythe optical metrology tool 708 will be affected by a Wood anomaly. TheNA module 860 then outputs a data stream comprising a set of weights(i)and points(i) determined based on whether a Wood anomaly is within thenumerical aperture, for approximation of an intensity distributionfunction integral over the numerical aperture. The simulation engine andaveraging module 870 is to receive the output data stream from the NAmodule 860 and perform numerical aperture averaging (integration) asdescribed elsewhere herein (e.g., by performing RCWA at the set ofpoints (i) and averaging each point(i) with the weight(i)). Thesimulated spectral information module 750 then outputs the simulatedspectral information (e.g., for storage in library 712).

FIG. 9 is a block diagram of a computer system 900 to implement themethods illustrated in FIGS. 2, 3A and 3B, by executing set ofinstructions, for example as the processing unit 710 (FIG. 7). Thecomputer system 900 may operate in the capacity of a server or a clientmachine in a client-server network environment, or as a peer machine ina peer-to-peer (or distributed) network environment. The computer system900 may be a personal computer (PC) or any known computing platformcapable of executing a set of instructions (sequential or otherwise)that specify actions to be taken by that computer platform. Further,while only a single machine is illustrated, the term “machine” shallalso be taken to include any collection of machines (e.g., computers)that individually or jointly execute a set (or multiple sets) ofinstructions to perform any one or more of the methodologies discussedherein.

The exemplary computer system 900 includes a processor 902, a mainmemory 904 (e.g., read-only memory (ROM), flash memory, dynamic randomaccess memory (DRAM) such as synchronous DRAM (SDRAM) or Rambus DRAM(RDRAM), etc.), a static memory 906 (e.g., flash memory, static randomaccess memory (SRAM), etc.), and a secondary memory 918 (e.g., a datastorage device), which communicate with each other via a bus 930.

Processor 902 represents one or more general-purpose processing devicessuch as a microprocessor, central processing unit, or the like. Moreparticularly, the processor 902 may be a complex instruction setcomputing (CISC) microprocessor, reduced instruction set computing(RISC) microprocessor, very long instruction word (VLIW) microprocessor,processor implementing other instruction sets, or processorsimplementing a combination of instruction sets. Processor 902 may alsobe one or more special-purpose processing devices such as an applicationspecific integrated circuit (ASIC), a field programmable gate array(FPGA), a digital signal processor (DSP), network processor, or thelike. Processor 902 is configured to execute the processing logic 926for automatically performing the operations discussed herein.

The computer system 900 may further include a network interface device908. The computer system 900 also may include a video display unit 910(e.g., a liquid crystal display (LCD) or a cathode ray tube (CRT)), analphanumeric input device 912 (e.g., a keyboard), a cursor controldevice 914 (e.g., a mouse), and a signal generation device 916 (e.g., aspeaker).

The secondary memory 918 may include a machine-accessible storage medium(or more specifically a computer-readable storage medium) 931 on whichis stored one or more sets of instructions (e.g., software 922)embodying any one or more of the methodologies or functions describedherein. The software 1722 may also reside, completely or at leastpartially, within the main memory 904 and/or within the processor 902during execution thereof by the computer system 900, the main memory 904and the processor 902 also constituting machine-readable storage media.The software 922 may further be transmitted or received over a network920 via the network interface device 908.

While the machine-accessible storage medium 931 is shown in an exemplaryembodiment to be a single medium, the term “machine-readable storagemedium” should be taken to include a single medium or multiple media(e.g., a centralized or distributed database, and/or associated cachesand servers) that store the one or more sets of instructions. The term“machine-readable storage medium” shall also be taken to include anymedium that is capable of storing or encoding a set of instructions forexecution by the machine and that cause the machine to perform any oneor more of the methodologies of the present invention. The term“machine-readable storage medium” shall accordingly be taken to include,but not be limited to, solid-state memories, optical and magnetic media,and other known non-transitory storage media.

In accordance with an embodiment of the present invention, amachine-accessible storage medium has instructions stored thereon whichcause a data processing system to perform a method of simulatingspectral information for structural analysis using OCD metrology. Themethod includes determining if there is a Wood anomaly within thenumerical aperture space, numerically integrating over the numericalaperture space by generating a first set of points and weights, inresponse to determining there is no Wood anomaly or, in response todetermining there is a Wood anomaly, by generating a second set ofpoints and weights that account for an effect of the Wood anomaly ondiffraction efficiency, and rigorously computing the simulated spectralinformation based on the first or second set of generated points andweights.

FIG. 10A is a schematic illustrating the utilization of OCD metrology todetermine parameters of structures on a semiconductor wafer, inaccordance with embodiments of the present invention. An opticalmetrology system 1000 (which may be utilized as the optical metrologytool 708 in FIG. 7) includes a metrology beam source 1002 projecting ametrology beam 1004 at the target diffracting structure 1006 of a wafer1008. The metrology beam 1004 is projected at the incidence angle θtowards the target structure 1006. The ellipsometer may, in oneembodiment, use an incidence angle of approximately 60° to 70°, or mayuse a lower angle (possibly close to 0° or near-normal incidence) or anangle greater than 70° (grazing incidence). The diffraction beam 1010 ismeasured by a metrology beam receiver (detector) 1012. The diffractionbeam data 1014 is transmitted to a profile application server 1016. Theprofile application server 1016 may compare the measured diffractionbeam data 1014 against a library 1018 of simulated diffraction beam datarepresenting varying combinations of critical dimensions of the targetstructure and resolution.

In one exemplary embodiment, the library 1018 instance best matching themeasured diffraction beam data 1014 is selected. It is to be understoodthat although a library of diffraction spectra or signals and associatedhypothetical profiles is frequently used to illustrate concepts andprinciples, the present invention applies equally to a data spaceincluding simulated diffraction signals and associated sets of profileparameters, such as in regression, neural network, and similar methodsused for profile extraction. The hypothetical profile and associatedcritical dimensions of the selected library 1016 instance is assumed tocorrespond to the actual cross-sectional profile and critical dimensionsof the features of the target structure 1006. The optical metrologysystem 1000 may utilize a reflectometer, an ellipsometer, or otheroptical metrology device to measure the diffraction beam or signal.

In order to facilitate the description of embodiments of the presentinvention, an ellipsometric optical metrology system is used toillustrate the above concepts and principles. It is to be understoodthat the same concepts and principles apply equally to the other opticalmetrology systems, such as reflectometric systems. In an embodiment, theoptical scatterometry is a technique such as, but not limited to,optical spectroscopic ellipsometry (SE), beam-profile reflectometry(BPR), beam-profile ellipsometry (BPE), and ultra-violet reflectometry(UVR). In a similar manner, a semiconductor wafer may be utilized toillustrate an application of the concept. Again, the methods andprocesses apply equally to other work pieces that have repeatingstructures.

FIG. 10B is a schematic illustrating the utilization of OCD metrology todetermine parameters of structures on a semiconductor wafer, inaccordance with embodiments of the present invention. The opticalmetrology system 1050 (which may be utilized as the optical metrologytool 708 in FIG. 7) includes a metrology beam source 1052 generating apolarized metrology beam 1054. Preferably this metrology beam has anarrow bandwidth of 10 nm or less. In some embodiments, the source 1052is capable of outputting beams of different wavelengths by switchingfilters or by switching between different lasers or super-bright lightemitting diodes. Part of this beam is reflected from the beam splitter1055 and focused onto the target structure 1606 of a wafer 1008 byobjective lens 1058, which has a high numerical aperture (NA),preferably an NA of approximately 0.9 or 0.95. The part of the beam 1054that is not reflected from the beam splitter is directed to beamintensity monitor 1057. The metrology beam may, optionally, pass througha quarter-wave plate 1056 before the objective lens 1058. Afterreflection from the target the reflected beam 1060 passes back throughthe objective lens and is directed to one or more detectors. If optionalquarter-wave plate 1056 is present, the beam will pass back through thatquarter-wave plate before being transmitted through the beam splitter1055. After the beam-splitter, the reflected beam 1060 may optionallypass through a quarter-wave plate at location 1059 as an alternative tolocation 1056. If the quarter-wave plate is present at location 1056, itwill modify both the incident and reflected beams. If it is present atlocation 1059, it will modify only the reflected beam. In someembodiments, no wave plate may be present at either location, or thewave plate may be switched in and out depending on the measurement to bemade. It is to be understood that in some embodiments it might bedesirable that the wave plate have a retardance substantially differentfrom a quarter wave, i.e. the retardance value might be substantiallygreater than, or substantially less than, 90°. A polarizer or polarizingbeam splitter 1062 directs one polarization state of the reflected beam1060 to detector 1064, and, optionally, directs a different polarizationstate to an optional second detector 1066. The detectors 1064 and 1066might be one-dimensional (line) or two-dimensional (array) detectors.Each element of a detector corresponds to a different combination of AOIand azimuthal angles for the corresponding ray reflected from thetarget. The diffraction beam data 1014 from the detector(s) istransmitted to the profile application server 1016 along with beamintensity data 1070. The profile application server 1016 may compare themeasured diffraction beam data 1014 after normalization or correction bythe beam intensity data 1070 against a library 1018 of simulateddiffraction beam data representing varying combinations of criticaldimensions of the target structure and resolution.

For more detailed descriptions of systems that could measure thediffraction beam data or signals for use with the present invention, seeU.S. Pat. No. 6,734,967, entitled FOCUSED BEAM SPECTROSCOPICELLIPSOMETRY METHOD AND SYSTEM, filed on Feb. 11, 1999, and U.S. Pat.No. 6,278,519 entitled APPARATUS FOR ANALYZING MULTI-LAYER THIN FILMSTACKS ON SEMICONDUCTORS, filed Jan. 29, 1998, both of which areincorporated herein by reference in their entirety. These two patentsdescribe metrology systems that may be configured with multiplemeasurement subsystems, including one or more of a spectroscopicellipsometer, a single-wavelength ellipsometer, a broadbandreflectometer, a DUV reflectometer, a beam-profile reflectometer, and abeam-profile ellipsometer. These measurement subsystems may be usedindividually, or in combination, to measure the reflected or diffractedbeam from films and patterned structures. The signals collected in thesemeasurements may be analyzed to determine parameters of structures on asemiconductor wafer in accordance with embodiments of the presentinvention.

It is to be understood that the above description is illustrative, andnot restrictive. For example, while flow diagrams in the figures show aparticular order of operations performed by certain embodiments of theinvention, it should be understood that such order may not be required(e.g., alternative embodiments may perform the operations in a differentorder, combine certain operations, overlap certain operations, etc.).Furthermore, many other embodiments will be apparent to those of skillin the art upon reading and understanding the above description.Although the present invention has been described with reference tospecific exemplary embodiments, it will be recognized that the inventionis not limited to the embodiments described, but can be practiced withmodification and alteration within the spirit and scope of the appendedclaims. The scope of the invention should, therefore, be determined withreference to the appended claims, along with the full scope ofequivalents to which such claims are entitled.

What is claimed is:
 1. A computer implemented method for generatingsimulated spectral information in optical critical dimension (OCD)metrology, the method comprising: receiving an intensity distributionfunction over a numerical aperture space for a target diffractingstructure; generating a set of points and weights for a non-lineartransformation of the intensity distribution function over a pluralityof subregions within the numerical aperture space; and rigorouslycomputing the simulated spectral information based on the set ofgenerated points and weights.
 2. The method of claim 1, furthercomprising performing the non-linear transformation by squaring theintensity distribution function in each subregion.
 3. The method ofclaim 1, further comprising determining if there is a Wood anomalywithin the numerical aperture space by determining if the Rayleighcondition for the target diffracting structure is satisfied for anywavelength, azimuth angle, and incident angle within a predeterminedrange.
 4. The method of claim 3, wherein the generating a set of pointsand weights for a non-linear transformation of the intensitydistribution function is in response to determining there is a Woodanomaly; and wherein the method further comprises generating a secondset of points and weights, in response to determining there is no Woodanomaly wherein the second set of points and weights is generated overthe entire aperture space without first dividing the aperture space intothe plurality of subregions.
 5. The method of claim 1, whereingenerating the set of points and weights for the non-lineartransformation further comprises: computing a curve that defines a Woodanomaly within the numerical aperture space; dividing the numericalaperture space into a plurality of subregions separated by the computedcurve; and generating points and weights for each of the subregions. 6.The method of claim 5, wherein computing the curve that defines a Woodanomaly further comprises: solving for a set of Rayleigh locations overa predetermined range of wavelength, azimuth angle, and incident anglefor a parameter of the target diffracting structure, wherein theparameter is a predetermined pitch for a one dimensional grating or is aset of predetermined lattice vectors corresponding to unit cells for atwo dimensional grating.
 7. The method of claim 5, wherein generatingpoints and weights for each of the subregions further comprises: mappingeach of the subregions to a separate unit square; and performing anumerical quadrature of the transformed intensity distribution functionover each separate unit square.
 8. The method of claim 7, furthercomprising determining a weighted sum of subregion integralsapproximated by the numerical quadrature, wherein the weighting is basedon relative areas of the numerical aperture space corresponding to eachsubregion.
 9. The method of claim 7, wherein performing the numericalquadrature further comprises: performing Gaussian quadrature integrationfor a one dimensional numerical aperture; and performing Gaussiancubature integration for a two dimensional numerical aperture.
 10. Anon-transitory computer readable media comprising instructions storedthereon, which when executed by a processing system cause the processorto perform the method of claim
 1. 11. A computer implemented method forgenerating simulated spectral information in optical critical dimension(OCD) metrology, the method comprising: receiving an intensitydistribution function over a numerical aperture space for a targetdiffracting structure; generating points and weights for an interpolatedfunction fitted to the intensity distribution function; and rigorouslycomputing the simulated spectral information based on the set ofgenerated points and weights.
 12. The method of claim 11, whereingenerating the points and weights for the interpolated function fittedto the intensity distribution function further comprises: constructing aplurality of generalized functions of analytical polynomials;interpolating the plurality of generalized functions to fit theintensity distribution function; and generating the points and weightsfrom a function of the interpolation.
 13. The method of claim 12,wherein the plurality of generalized functions include a term accountingfor an effect of Wood anomalies on diffraction efficiency.
 14. Themethod of claim 12, wherein generating the points and weights from thefunction of the interpolation comprises adaptively dividing theintegration region into subregions until polynomial interpolation atGaussian quadrature points in each subdomain reaches a predeterminedaccuracy threshold; and generating at least one Gaussian quadratureintegration point for each of the subregions.
 15. The method of claim14, further comprising performing a QR decomposition, where Q^(T)Q=I andR is an upper triangular matrix whose elements below the diagonal areall zero, to eliminate at least one of the integration points based on apredetermined integration accuracy threshold.
 16. The method of claim14, further comprising iteratively performing a damped Newton method toreduce the number of integration points one at a time until a furtherreduction in the number of integration points is unable to reach thepredetermined integration accuracy threshold.
 17. A non-transitorycomputer readable media comprising instructions stored thereon, whichwhen executed by a processing system cause the processor to perform themethod of claim
 11. 18. An optical critical dimension (OCD) measurementapparatus, comprising: a light source; a detector to collect measuredspectral information from the light source as diffracted by a targetgrating disposed on a substrate being measured by the apparatus; asimulated spectral information module to generate simulated spectralinformation by numerically integrating a non-linear transformedintensity distribution function by Gaussian quadrature using a set ofweights and points that account for the effect of Wood anomalies ondiffraction efficiency; and logic to compare the measured spectralinformation and the simulated spectral information and generate anestimate of a critical dimension of a feature in the target grating. 19.The OCD measurement apparatus of claim 18, wherein the simulatedspectral information module is further to divide a numerical aperturespace into subregions along a curve defining a Wood anomaly.
 20. The OCDmeasurement apparatus of claim 18, wherein the simulated spectralinformation module is to: compute the curve that defines a Wood anomalywithin the numerical aperture space; and generate points and weights foreach subregion.
 21. The OCD measurement apparatus of claim 18, whereinthe simulated spectral information module is to perform the non-lineartransformation of the intensity distribution function in each subregion.